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A&S in the News: April 15-21, 2018

Posted on: April 23rd, 2018

Crimson Stage

Crimson Stage play short but ambitious: Crimson White – Apr. 15

Though the average UA theatre production boasts extravagant costumes, sets and lighting design, “I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard” strips the stage down to its barest bones and seeks to tell a compelling story with only two actors. Tonight, Monday, April 15, the Crimson Stage production of “I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard” will run at 7:30 p.m. in Ferguson Center room 3104. Admission is $5 at the door. The cast also presented a show last night.

E.O. Wilson

On this day in 1979 in Alabama history, writer Edward Wilson is awarded one of his two Pulitzer prizes for the nonfiction book on human nature. Wilson was born in Birmingham and raised in Mobile and Decatur. He attended The University of Alabama then went on to Harvard University and an internationally acclaimed career in the sciences.

Women at UA

Women celebrate 125th year at the University: Crimson White – Apr. 17

The University of Alabama was founded in 1831, but it was 62 years later in 1893 that the first women were allowed to enroll. 2018 marks the 125th anniversary of female enrollment at the University. To commemorate the anniversary, a committee was formed to recognize the accomplishments of women throughout their time at the Capstone and celebrate the female legends of the University.

Gubernatorial Race

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s absence from the Republican debate stage ahead of the June 5 primaries is occurring the same time national polls suggest a widening enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections. . . . Said Richard Fording, a political science professor at The University of Alabama: “This race is going to go under-the-radar. Low turnout. And people go with the incumbent, because it’s the safe thing to do.”

‘Sweeney Todd’

Seth Panitch’s “Sweeney Todd” is still about a foolish barber and his wife. But the director found an angle through the man who could describe his wife only as beautiful — nothing more specific, about demeanor, or personality — and himself as bewilderingly unable to see … In what could be an in-joke, William Green rises from a morgue table for what will likely be his final performance at The University of Alabama: The towering third-year master of fine arts candidate began his run here as the staggering, groaning creature of spare dead parts in “Young Frankenstein.”

Plant Tree of Life

Advances in genome sequencing have resulted in vast amounts of genetic information being produced for ever-increasing numbers of species, but we are still just scratching the surface … Newly developed phylogenetic approaches often allow these challenges to be tackled in unique ways. Co-editor Michael McKain, assistant professor at The University of Alabama and curator of The University of Alabama Herbarium, enthused about a paper by Tovar et al.Bright Surf – Apr. 19
Space Ref – Apr. 19Brink Wire – Apr. 19Global Plant Council – Apr. 22

Tattoo Health Benefits

Tattoos have a bit of a taboo surrounding them; with the older generation scrunching up their noses when they spot them, and people being discriminated against in the workplace if they have visible ink … Researchers from the University of Alabama collected saliva samples from before and after the volunteer had a tattoo and then tested it for levels of immunoglobulin A. According to associate professor Christopher Lynn, immunoglobulin A is, “a front line of defense against some of the common infections we encounter, like colds.”

Fugitive Ads

While the value of slaves in the U.S. from the colonial period to the Civil War rose and fell like other market goods, for the most part, enslaved people constituted the most valuable kind of property, typically worth even more than land and other highly valued resources … (Mitchell is one of the projects three lead researchers, along with The University of Alabama’s Joshua Rothman and Cornell’s Edward Baptist, author of The Half Has Never Been Told.)

Bio Blitz

The University of Alabama Arboretum will host this year’s BioBlitz and Earth Day celebration on Saturday. The BioBlitz is designed to conduct an intensive survey of the biological diversity at the UA Arboretum. Participants will record observations of as many different organisms as possible. The free event is open to all ages and requires no previous experience. Staff from the Alabama Museum of Natural History and the Arboretum will be there to help volunteers identify various species and to teach participants how to become citizen scientists who can contribute to ongoing biodiversity projects.

Ecological Research

For the first time researchers studying a deadly virus modeled how it spreads to young trout and salmon in the waters of the Columbia River Basin, showing that migrating adult fish are the main source of exposure. The ecological modeling of the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus, or IHNV, shows how it moves across the landscape over time, providing a crucial understanding for managers of hatchery programs attempting to protect juvenile salmon and trout.